Happy Birthday
by BookWorm525600
Summary: When Brennan agrees to help out at a birthday party for one of Hailey's friends, she doesn't know what she's signing up for.


**If this seems familiar, it's because I originally had all of my one-shots in one story. I've decided to continue them during the summer, so I had to put them into their own stories. Sorry for the confusion. Oh, and, much as I wish it were otherwise, I don't own Bones.**

* * *

Booth and Brennan left Sweets's office, puzzled by the young psychiatrist's most recent advice

Booth and Brennan left Sweets's office, puzzled by the young psychiatrist's most recent advice. Booth, always the first to insult Sweets's methods, stated defiantly, "Well, now we know he's crazy. Not work together for two weeks? How are we supposed to solve cases, you know, do the whole find-the-bad-guy-thing?"

Brennan glared at him, quick to defend Sweets's plan, "Dr. Sweets knows what he's doing. If he thinks we'll work better after being separated for a couple of weeks, I think we should try it." She suddenly stopped walking across the parking lot and declared, "Starting now, I won't see you for two weeks. We're going to go our separate ways, and after two weeks we'll be better partners." Noting Booth's suggestive facial expression, she added, "Work partners."

"If you say so, Bones," Booth resigned, and he jogged away, leaving Brennan alone on the sidewalk.

"Booth!" she called after him.

The FBI agent grinned charmingly, "Miss me already?"

Brennan frowned and clarified, "I thought we could go our separate ways _after_ you drop me off at the lab."

Later that week

Hearing her cell phone's generic ring tone, Brennan set down the fine brush she was using to clean the femur sitting on her desk. "Jeffersonian Lab, Temperance Brennan speaking," she recited.

The relatively familiar voice on the other end of the line warmly replied, "Temperance? It's Amy. I'm in a bit of a situation and was wondering if I could ask a favor from you."

"Of course, Amy," Brennan responded uncertainly.

"You're a life saver! I was in a bit of a fender-bender, and I promised to help run a birthday party for one of Haley's friends. She's having a good month, so the doctor let her out of the hospital for a few weeks. This party is really important to her," Amy explained. "If you could take her there and maybe help the host with a few things, I would be so grateful."

Skeptically, Brennan agreed, "All right, how hard can it be?"

Later that day

As Brennan's car pulled up to the party location, she realized this could be very, very hard. Under the large 'XTREME LAZER TAG' sign stood around twenty children, mostly boys. Things got even harder when Brennan saw the birthday boy. "Parker?"

Later that afternoon

Freezing cold and very angry, Brennan crept through the spacious, pitch-black room. She walked up steep stairs, scurried across open expanses, climbed up rope ladders, edged along dark walls, and always looked out for possible victims. As she crossed a narrow bridge 20 feet in the air, Brennan took her first shot. Following the beam of the red laser, she saw the shooter's familiar grin. "Great," she muttered to herself, "I'm playing laser tag with an ex-sniper."

Moving on, Brennan rested behind a felt-covered wall and peeked around the corner, hoping to get a clear shot at Booth. Unfortunately, the scuffling she had heard was a group of young boys. Moving in without a sound, Brennan jumped out of hiding and open-fired on the children. Startled by the surprise attack, they waddled away, weighed down by the laser tag gear. Brennan grinned proudly, beginning to enjoy the party.

The enjoyment didn't last long, though, as Booth saw his chance and shot his laser at Brennan's back. When she wheeled around to face the high tower, he was already gone. Deciding he had probably avoided the main stairwell, Brennan went around the back to hunt him down. Creeping silently, Brennan moved into position. After several minutes of stealth tracking, she saw his silhouette against a lightly glowing slope, glancing around the corner expectantly. So close she could hear his heavy breathing, Brennan didn't move for a minute. Remembering that she was at a party, Brennan decided to break the quiet moment, screaming "Banzai!" with a perfect Japanese accent as she fired her laser at the back of his head.

Booth turned towards her, bemused by her untraditional attack method. His laser tag apparatus still buzzing slightly, he put his hand on her waist and pulled her close. "See, Bones, you can't stay away."


End file.
